Welfare Assistance Schemes: Coronavirus

(asked on 10th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the £63 million of local welfare assistance to be used by local authorities announced by the Prime Minister on 10 June 2020 , what his timescale is for (a) publishing guidance on use of that funding and (b) making that funding available.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 15th June 2020

Defra will distribute the funding directly to local authorities to ensure they can support people facing severe financial difficulty who may be struggling to afford food and other necessities. Local authorities set the criteria for eligibility for welfare assistance schemes. We recognise that local authorities have set up different structures and schemes to support their communities during COVID-19 according to local need.

This funding is a one-off boost to local authorities in recognition of the fact that some people in our communities are facing sudden and severe financial difficulties. The COVID-19 pandemic is an extraordinary event and it is right that we take extraordinary measures in response to it.

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